It was still cloudy, overcast and damp from Hurricane Lee when we awoke Sunday morning, September 17th. After breakfast I went outside and changed the flat tire out for our spare. Called a local tire dealer and they were open, but can’t get my size tire until Monday in the brand I want. After Cindy and I discussed the situation we decided to get two so we could replace one of the other older tires. We also realized we would be coming back by Holden on our way from Bass Harbor on Tuesday, so we ordered the tires and hopefully they’ll be waiting for us Tuesday morning as we come back here on our way to Salem, Massachusetts.
We left Holden Family Campground Sunday around 11:30 am and arrived at Bass Harbor Campground at 1 pm. Check-in time is 2 pm but our site was empty so they let us check-in early. Not the best site we’ve ever had, but we’re only here for 2 nights and the folks in the office, as I mentioned in an earlier post, are very nice.
Our large slide-out is still not extending. I got out the tool you use for manually extending or retracting the slide-out, but it turns out the shaft wasn’t even attached, it was just lying in the tube opening. We’re lucky it didn’t fall out while we were driving down the road. It looked like the cotter pin that held it in place had broken off. Kind of crazy that the motor stopped working AND the manual shaft connection broke at the same time. I’m thinking maybe one caused the other, but no way to know for sure.
What we do know for sure is we’re going to have to get this repaired by a qualified slide-out technician. With the slide-out stuck in we cannot get to our main cabinet of dry food storage, or into our dinette to sit, or into the storage under the dinette. We completely lose the ability to walk around the back side of the kitchen island and Cindy can’t get to her seat at the desk. And, as funny as it seems in an already small travel trailer, it is REALLY tight quarters without the space that slide-out affords us.
I called a local RV dealer but their service manager told me they were currently scheduling repair appointments for November. That is actually pretty typical, but I thought I’d take a chance. Our next step will have to be to find a mobile repair tech at one of our upcoming stops.
Later, in the early evening, Cindy and I walked down to the Bass Harbor Light Station. The walk was about a mile each way and I’m glad we didn’t take Bella because there was no walkway along either side of the road. While the vehicle traffic up and down was not heavy, it was enough that it could have been dangerous with Bella. There were several residences along the way and most of them had handmade or homemade signs asking drivers to slow down. Mostly for deer or cats. Guess there weren’t any kids or dogs in those homes.
Found an unexpectedly large group of people who had also either driven or walked to the Light Station when we arrived. It turns out there is a beautiful place to watch the sunset from the Light Station and the alarm bell next to it. On our walk back we spotted a few deer, which excited Cindy. She loves getting to see them when we’re out walking or hiking.
Monday, it rained all day. We drove through Acadia National Park over to world famous Bar Harbor, Maine and walked around the waterfront town. Very touristy place, but the harbor was pretty. The streets were crowded with folks like us who were there just to see what all the fuss was about. When it was time for lunch most of the restaurants were seafood-centric. That was to be expected in a locale like this, but neither Cindy nor I like seafood so we spent some time looking for something different. Found an Irish Pub and got excited but they didn’t have Cindy’s favorite Irish Pub dish; Shepherd’s Pie. So that was a no-go. Walked further down to a place that advertised being open 7 days a week at 11 am, but they lied. They were closed. Finally found a sports bar where we had a good lunch, but it might have been good because we were so hungry, lol.
Went back to the campground. Since we have to leave early on Tuesday we decided to go ahead and hitch Nomad to Voyager and be ready to leave at 7 am for our appointment at the tire dealer in Holden. I made homemade pizza for dinner. Then I spent the night reading and editing photos while Cindy cursed her attempts at a different tatting patter project. Of course it rained all night.
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